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Football: North Stars light up Glenbard East on Homecoming

Backup QB Beach throws for two TDs, Segobiano runs for two scores in 38-6 romp

ST. CHARLES – Nary a St. Charles North football player budged Friday night when the stadium lights dimmed more quickly than usual.

[Karen Naess for Shaw Media]

That’s what happens on homecoming. The North Stars play a game, and fireworks follow.

One expected result followed another for North, which calmly erased a sluggish start and second-quarter deficit against winless Glenbard East in a 38-6, Upstate Eight Conference crossover romp.

“We were caught off-guard at first, but we just knew we had to rally,” North Stars junior linebacker Dan Daley said. “We knew we could beat them. We had the confidence. … We knew we had it. We had the belief. Belief was our whole mission statement all week.”

[Karen Naess for Shaw Media]

North (4-1) seized control with a 28-point second quarter, benefiting from a series of short fields and Rams turnovers to strike for each of its scores within a 5:55 span.

At 43 yards, senior running back Lucas Segobiano’s scoring run with 2:59 left in the quarter marked the longest touchdown of the surge. Segobiano’s 2-yard run earlier in the quarter tied a shovel pass score from backup quarterback David Beach to Ben Furtney for the shortest TDs.

The Rams (0-5) temporarily hushed North’s crowd in the closing seconds of the first quarter as senior running back Jack Oberli broke free fora 64-yard touchdown run. Glenbard East missed the ensuing two-point conversion attempt on a drive that started on the Rams’ 5-yard line.

[Karen Naess for Shaw Media]

Segobiano’s 73-yard run took North to the Rams’ 1 moments earlier, but Glenbard East defensive tackle James McNicholas recovered a fumble on the next play.

A Segobiano interception midway through the second quarter helped put the North Stars in favorable field position in the heat of a busy night. Although North Stars coach Rob Pomazak said “we’re kind of trying to trim” the team’s two-way reliance on Segobiano, the senior welcomes the chance to contribute whenever called upon. If he takes a breather, it typically comes on defense.

“Really, there’s no dropoff in the secondary,” Segobiano said. “All our backups are really good. I mean, it’s tough to manage, but after the first couple minutes, after a possession on each side, you just kind of get in the flow of things. The adrenaline gets going. It’s fine.”

[Karen Naess for Shaw Media]

Pomazak praised the team’s offensive depth, to boot, beginning with Beach, who threw for two touchdowns and an interception in place of classmate Mike Hohensee, who sat out with a nagging injury.

“(Hohensee) will be back next week and it’ll be a welcome thing, but I tell you what, David Beach is just such an amazing young man thatwe couldn’t be happier for him to have these opportunities and do a great job,” Pomazak said.

Barring slipups in any of their next two games – struggling Elgin and Streamwood are a combined 2-8 after Week 5 – the North Stars could host Geneva (Week 8) and Batavia (Week 9) with plenty at stake in the UEC River race.

[Karen Naess for Shaw Media]

North edged defending league champion St. Charles East, 35-34, in overtime on the road last week. On Friday, Batavia topped East, 7-0, to improve to 3-0 in River play. North (2-0 UEC River) has the only other unblemished conference record.

Just before the fireworks started, Daley gave one more plug for the “belief” movement as the regular season stretch run approaches.

“I think it’s just the connection throughout the team,” he said. “I mean, everybody talks to everybody. There’s no cliques. We’re all one team that’s really tight. It’s cool.”